Fifth Franken Accuser Speaks About 2003 USO Tour Interaction

December 02, 2017 09:54 PM

(KSTP) -- One of Sen. Al Franken's latest accusers said the senator needs to take responsibility for his actions and understand there are consequences.

On Thursday, Army Veteran Stephanie Kemplin told CNN Franken groped her in December of 2003 during a photo op. In the alleged 2003 incident, Kemplin said she was deployed in Kuwait and Franken was visiting as part of a USO tour.

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"I went up and Mr. Franken put his arm around me," Kemplin said. "And in doing so, he put his hand in between my torso and my arm and he was … his hand was cupping the right side of my breast."

Kemplin said she noticed the smell of alcohol on Franken's breath, but was unsure if the senator was drunk. The Army veteran said at first she thought Franken's contact may have been an accident, but said the senator continued to linger.

"I after more seconds kept passing he wasn't moving his hand," she said.

Kemplin added, "I just remember feeling very embarrassed and I just wanted to get out of there."

Kemplin said she has forgiven Franken since the incident occurred and is not calling for his resignation.The Army veteran said her main reason for coming forward with her story was to call out the senator on his wrongdoing.

Kemplin said she would welcome a genuine apology, but feels Franken's statements so far are, "very telling."

"I don't believe his apology is genuine," she said. "I believe it's the politically correct thing to do and it was very scripted."

A Franken spokesperson issued a statement regarding the CNN report, which said, "As Sen. Franken made clear this week, he takes thousands of photos and has met tens of thousands of people and he has never intentionally engaged in this kind of conduct. He remains fully committed to cooperating with the ethics investigation."